Tag Archives: King Guthrum of East Anglia

DAS Chronicle

DAS Chronicles – Into The 880s!

Since 2014, DAS has been following the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the 870s, year-by-year, trying to see how our units would have fitted in to the wars and treacheries of that time. It’s been lots of fun, and we’d like to continue it into the 880s…

But first, a reminder of what’s already happened, as the 870s saw sweeping changes across Britain, with the Vikings and Saxons both suffering terrible losses and celebrating great victories.
In 872 London was sacked by the Vikings, and the Viking units of DAS fell upon the refugees being escorted to safety by the Saxon units.
In 874, a series of events finally saw King Burhred of Mercia driven from his lands, with King Ceolwulf taking his place and inviting Vikings to settle there – an expensively bought peace! However, Ivar Ragnarsson of the Vikings died in the battle winning the peace, leaving the Vikings without a clear leader…
In 875 the Vikings quarrelled over who should rule them. Meanwhile, King Alfred of Wessex stepped up to claim he was the natural leader of all free Englisc, harrying the sea-raiders and looting the looters.
In 876, King Harald Finehair of Norway sought to gain control of the Isles and Northumbria – but was driven out of Northumbria at least by Vikings united under Halfdan Ragnarsson, with the Westmen seizing the Raven Banner of Finehair’s forces. Halfdan said the Vikings should secure the north before pushing to take Wessex; but Guthrum said they should take Wessex whilst they had momentum. The Oestvikinga and Holmbyggjar followed Guthrum to war, whilst the Westmen followed Halfdan north – where they got caught up in some very complex politics and all sorts of treacheries between Britons, Scots, and Picts. Meanwhile, the Cilternsaete fled Ceolwulf’s Mercia and took refuge in Wessex, where they aided Anir Thane’s Sumorsaete in defending Alfred’s borders. Guthrum’s forces took Wareham but were trapped there – and the Saxons took Vikings as hostages in exchange for peace.
In 877 the hostages broke free, and fled with the rest of Guthrum’s forces across Wessex, seeking to join up with a naval force sent to Exeter… But the naval force was destroyed, and the Englisc scattered the fractured Vikings.
In 878 news came of the deaths of the last two Ragnarssons, Ubbe and Halfdan. Guthrum unified the Viking forces, proudly bearing at least one Raven Banner, and pressed Wessex hard. But the Englisc managed to get word from Alfred, who was sheltering in a swamp, and rose up in great fury. Guthrum was defeated, forced to be baptised and become Athelstan. The whole of what is today England was divided into Danelaw and Wessex.
And so, in 879, a great peace fell upon the land. There were occasional border disputes, and trouble makers sometimes sought to re-ignite old wars (although Hauk of the Oestvikingae’s attempt to steal a Saxon Thegn’s helmet to stir up trouble came to naught), but the two forces had time to rebuild and settle.

But no peace lasts forever, and we’re now entering the 880s. Of course, the pandemic has slightly disrupted our plans! But luckily 880 and 881 are both fairly quiet, in England at least:
A.D. 880. This year went the army from Cirencester into East-Anglia, where they settled, and divided the land. The same year went the army over sea, that before sat at Fulham, to Ghent in Frankland, and sat there a year.
A.D. 881. This year went the army higher up into Frankland, and the Franks fought with them; and there was the army horsed after the battle.

As we haven’t had any fighting events for a while, and it might be a while before we get any, it is worth thinking what your character is up to in this time!

Vikings, are you settling and dividing the land of East Anglia (this is probably the time that the Holmbyggjar get settled into Osea Island)? Or are you heading up to Northumbria or the Isles, and looking after lands there (off to Canna, or Mann)? Or are you off pillaging France?

For the Saxons, this is probably the time that Alfred really builds up the network of fortified burhs to defend his borders, the Burghal Hidage. They were possibly started in the late 870s, but this was a chance to turn them into permanent and significant fortifications. It was also quite possibly a time he built up his own fleet of ships – 882 features a Wessex naval victory against the Vikings. How might your characters fit into this time of preparation, what are they doing to help Alfred?

One big storyline that we’re keen to play through once we’re all back together is the fate of Mercia. It is in the late 870s or early 880s that Viking-appeasing King Ceolwulf of Mercia is replaced by Æthelred of Mercia – although Wessex always regards Æthelred as an ealdorman under Alfred, not a king in his own right (and Æthelred only holds West Mercia, as the Vikings keep control of the East). One of Æthelred’s first actions (possibly once he is in charge, or possibly under Ceolwulf) is an invasion of Wales, but he is roundly beaten at the Battle of Conwy in 881. Hauk and Herewulf both have plans for events that could be themed around this storyline and the shifting sands in Mercia, which they’d hoped to run this year but look forward to running when we can.

Looking further forward, the 880s are also characterised by Alfred going on the attack: fighting in London, Rochester, Stourmouth… Plus treachery from the Vikings in East Anglia, and no doubt plenty of border skirmishes! But there are fewer large sweeping changes in political leaders, so it should be a good time to focus more on our personal stories and rivalries and less on “wait, who is king now?”

DAS Chronicle

Wessex Strikes Back! 878 A.D. (Flaunden, October 2018)

Following his escape from Chippenham when the Danes struck in midwinter, King Alfred and his most faithful followers fled to seek refuge in the Somerset fens on the isle of Athelney- an area well-known to Alfred as a hunting preserve.
The Englisc folk fortified the isle at Easter, and ventured out at times to harry the heathen. Alfred took council with his witan. Good news was that Ubba, raiding Devon with 23 ships, was brought to battle by the Defnascir fyrd led by Ealdorman Odda and defeated, losing his life, and his raven banner.

Word was sent out, carried by trusted messengers, for the fyrd to gather seven weeks after Easter. The Danes round about guessed something was going on, but not what or where. The messengers had to evade them and bring news to those loyal to Alfred – the muster-place was to be Ecgbert’s Stone! The Vikings did not manage to prevent the muster from occurring, and those scouts who saw the fyrd fled back to report.

Alfred led his fyrd to Ethandun, where they met with the Viking army and put it to flight – for they had much to avenge. The survivors of the heathen host fled to their fort: a band of Englisc sought to block their way, but were defeated and they gained the safety of the fort. Alfred laid siege – and, as at Exeter, and Nottingham before that, there was stalemate – the Englisc could not get in without great loss, but the Danes could not get out. As food ran low, peace was made, and oaths and hostages were given – and, wondrous miracle! Guthrum agreed that he would be baptised and become a Christian!

There was doubt about this, as the heathen had proved false to their oaths before – but three weeks later, Guthrum came to Alfred at Wedmore and was baptised as Aethelstan. That night, Englisc and Danes feasted alongside one another.

So – now it seems that all three sons of Ragnar Lothbrok are dead, and Guthrum has become the Christian Aethelstan. Now, perhaps, there will be peace in these lands….

DAS Chronicle

The Ravens Return 878 A.D. (Earleywood, March 2018)

In spring of 878, the Westmen returned from Ireland bearing the terrible news that Ubbe Ragnarsson fell in late 877 in the skirmish at Loch Cuan between the fair heathens and the dark heathens. Albann, king of the dark heathens fell there also. The Westmen now sought to meet with Ubbe’s forces (meant to be raiding Devon by sea) and Guthrum’s forces (who’d been ravaging much of Wessex by land). They wanted to find also a raven banner previously owned by the son of Jarl Rognvald, lord of the Kingdom of the Isles and Finehair’s right hand man which they won in battle in 876, as they felt it would surely bring victory to the Vikings who bore it.

The Oestvikingae were present at the massacre of Ubbe’s raid, and the few survivors were scattered. Hauk fled with another raven banner, made by Ubbe in jealousy of his brother Halfdan having the Westmen and their raven banner on his side. This banner bore the strange curse that it would bring victory but the bearer would die – Halfdan was winning, when his banner-bearer (a tall but gangling youth, desperate to be known as a great warrior but lacking the ability) fell. Halfdan took up the banner himself, as no-one else would – and took his death wound.

The Holmbyggjar had been with the Viking leader Guthrum, harrassing Alfred. Guthrum, seeing the Northumbrian / Ragnarsson side of the Great Army without a leader, wanted to take the Raven Banner to set himself up as leader of all the Vikings.

The Englisc had with them Jarl Rognvald’s raven banner, which they wanted to deliver to a monastery, a trophy of ealdorman Odda’s victory and evidence of God’s grace and superiority over the heathen devils.

As the day fell out, the Holmbyggjar and Westmen took both banners between them, though there was much confusion as to which was cursed and after much mead of victory was drunk it was also not clear where the banners ended up!

As these events took place, Alfred was in hiding in the Somerset levels, and other Vikings were attempting to keep his Englisc supporters from finding him. Eventually the Englisc found their way to him, guided by locals, and driving off the Vikings who harried them. And at the banquet that night, a monk sent by Alfred brought some tasty cakes for all to share.

DAS Chronicle

The Raven Banner Falls, 876 A.D. (Earleywood, March 2016)

In 875 news arrived that King Harald Finehair of Norway’s fearsome warlord Jarl Rognvald had conquered the islands off the north coast of Britain, from the Orkneys to the Hebrides to Mann: the lands that many of the Westmen call home. His army had also landed in Northumbria, attempting to bring all the Vikings in Britain under his rule. Meanwhile, the Northumbrians had risen up, wanting freedom from any foreign ruler.

The Westmen, Oestvikingae, and Holmbyggjar weren’t having that, and so marched North to fight King Harald off, under Halfdan Ragnarsson’s leadership. Sadly, due to being shipwrecked and then ambushed, they arrived too late for the big battle: by the time they arrived, Halfdan’s men had broken the invading Norwegian army. The Vikings of DAS were sent to look for Jarl Rognvald’s son, Ivar, who rumour had it had been killed in a Northumbrian ambush. With him had fallen his standard, the Raven Banner.

Looking for the Raven Banner, many warbands descended on the area where Ivar was rumoured to have died. The Vikings wanted to get it to rally all of the raiders in England to their cause and to demoralise Rognvald and Halfdan; the Englisc wanted to stop any of the foreign kings achieving pre-eminence, to keep the Vikings fighting each other; and some dangerous elite lone wolves from the Norwegian army were hoping to grab the banner and take it back to their forces. After an initially fruitless search, the banner was uncovered by Thorhelm of the Oestvikingae. The Oestvikingae were then attacked by a Norwegian, who was being aided by a Saxon mercanary, Athelstan of the Sumorsaete. As they fled, they ran into the Holmbyggjar, who smashed aside both groups to take the banner for themselves. Halla then took the banner and went into hiding, protecting it to return it to King Guthrum.

A lone Norwegian

Everyone in the area began searching for Halla, who utilised all of her skills to remain unseen. Finally the Holmbyggjar found her, and teamed up with the Oestvikingae to break out past the encircling forces: a Norwegian, Athelstan, and the Cilternsaete refugees who had fled from Mercia into Northumbria. The Englisc won, only for Athelstan to turn on the Norwegian, stabbing him in the back and proudly winning the banner…

The chase

After a break for lunch, the hunt for the banner continued. With the Norwegians driven out of the area, the Vikings turned on the Englisc in earnest. The Westmen soon overpowered them and captured the banner. Then the Oestvikingae stole the banner from their hiding place, and the chase was on! The woods descended into madness as people fought for the banner, desperate chases down paths with ended in bogs and holly bushes. At the end of the day, despite a particularly successful stint by Wulfgar of the Cilternsaete as the banner bearer, the Westmen were triumphant and proudly bore the banner out of the woods.

The victors

That evening, the Holmbyggjar held a great feast. Two mysterious visitors joined the hall. One was from Jarl Rognvald and King Harald Finehair. He said that King Harald acknowledged the victory against him, was retreating to Norway with Jarl Rognvald, and that they revoked all claim to the Kingdom of Northumbria: at which the hall rejoiced. However, he then added that Jarl Rognvald’s brother, Jarl Sigurd, would remain in control of the Kingdom of the Isles, from Mann to the Hebrides to the Orkneys. This distressed the hall, particularly those of the Westmen who called those isles their home. The second visitor was Herjolf Asgrimsson, huskarlar of King Halfdan Ragnarsson. He passed on messages from Halfdan. To the Westmen, successful bearers of the Raven Banner, he said that he entirely supported their claim to the isles which they called home. He would not allow any of his followers to take the isles from them, and would support them in reclaiming the isles from the Norwegian Sigurd. To the Oestvikingae and the Holmbyggjar he offered land. He said that attacking Wessex before we have properly secured our conquests is rash, and that we must completely subdue the North before marching South.

The Holmbyggjar disagreed, saying that they followed King Guthrum not Halfdan, King Guthrum who had offered them (and all who supported him in taking Wessex) land in East Anglia. The time to consolidate our victories is once they are complete, once there is no free Englisc kingdom. And to do that, Wessex must fall.

The Oestvikingae were torn. They wanted to attack fresh lands, lands rich in money. But they had previously been loyal to the Ragnarssons, and switching allegiance to Guthrum felt like a betrayal.

The Westmen, however, were clear. Following Guthrum and taking Wessex seemed like the best choice, the most strategic. But the Westment never followed the sensible option. And so they would be marching North, to retake their homes, before returning South.

Meanwhile, the Englisc sat and listened, biding their time and preparing to carry word of the plans south to Alfred, the last free Englisc king. Whatever was coming, he would prepared… Herewulf Thegn proudly told the story of how Athelstan tricked the lone Norwegian wolf to claim the Raven Banner by pretending to be a mercenary, and his implication was clear: Alfred of Wessex was cleverer than any Viking king, and the Englisc would outfox any invaders just like Athelstan had.

Historical Note – The Raven Banner
The Raven Banner is one of those things that much has been written about, a lot of it rubbish. Historically the first appearance of it is in 878, 2 years after our current period, when Ubbe Ragnarsson invades Wessex and took with him “the war-flag (guðfani), which they called Raven”. Later it is also used by the Kings of Northumbria and Norse-occupied Ireland, the Jarls of Orkney, King Knut, King Haraldr at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and banners with ravens on appear in the Bayeaux Tapestry. In several sources it is magical or cursed: the army that carry it always wins but the banner bearer always dies, or the image changes depending on if they’re going to win or lose, or so on.

The only Viking source that depicts something that might be the Raven banner is the coins minted by the last descendant of the Ragnarssons to rule Northumbria, in the 940s. Two of his coins depict banners or ravens, and Hauk combined them to make our version. If you want to read more, the Viking Answer Lady has a very good article.

RavenBanner

 

9th Century History, DAS Chronicle

DAS in 2016 / Britain in 876

In 2014 we followed the events of 874, building up to King Burhred being driven out of Mercia by a coalition of Viking leaders and Ceolwulf ascending to the throne of Mercia as a Viking puppet king. However, in exchange the Vikings lost their unifying leader, Ivar ‘the Boneless’ Ragnarsson.
In 2015 we looked at 875, with the Viking leaders setting out in different directions after the feast at Earleywood: Halfdan Ragnarsson marching north to try to pacify the rebellious Northumbrians and drive off the invading Norwegian King Harald Finehair, whilst Guthrum went to Cambridge to keep the East Anglians under tight control. Meanwhile, the Vikings of DAS found their longships attacked by King Alfred of Wessex’s navy, were driven ashore, and hiked cross-country from Cadbury to the borders of East Anglia. The Englisc spent the year ambushing and chasing them, forcing them to fight for every step they took across the country.

In 876, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that:
This year Rolla penetrated Normandy with his army; and he reigned fifty winters. And this year the army stole into Wareham, a fort of the West-Saxons. The king afterwards made peace with them; and they gave him as hostages those who were worthiest in the army; and swore with oaths on the holy bracelet, which they would not before to any nation, that they would readily go out of his kingdom. Then, under colour of this, their cavalry stole by night into Exeter. The same year Healfden divided the land of the Northumbrians; so that they became afterwards their harrowers and plowers.

This gives us some good clear plotlines to follow. We have the resolution of Halfdan’s fight against the Northumbrians and Harald Finehair’s Norwegians, followed by the division of Northumbria. This will take place at Earleywood, acting as a bridge between 875 and 876 and a resolution of the plot from last Earleywood‘s banquet. Further small clashes in Northumbria as the boundaries are drawn up could easily also occur, if people are looking for plots to run later in the year.

Then we have the shenanigans as Guthrum’s Viking forces seize Wareham, give hostages to Alfred, and then sneakily break their oaths to seize Exeter. This could easily provide plot for several events: there’s the march across Wessex to get to Wareham, the attack on the town, the siege of the Vikings (perhaps with foraging parties creeping out to try to fetch more food), making the peace, and then the breaking of the peace and the mad dash to Exeter. This action also spills over into 877, when Alfred tries to retake Exeter.
The oath-taking and hostage swapping should provide good banquet entertainment: who will be chosen as hostages?
For those that watched the (terribly costumed and only very loosely historical) Last Kingdom series, the attack on Wareham is Episode 4: it’s the city where Uhtred is given as a hostage to Guthrum and only survives Guthrum murdering the hostages thanks to Young Ragnar.

And, of course, we have a raid on Normandy, led by Ganger-Hrólf / Rolla / Rollo. This first attack on Rouen proved successful for Hrolf, who stayed around in northern France and eventually ended up founding his own semi-separate state of Normandy there by 918. His great-great-great grandson was William the Conqueror. The early life of Hrolf is somewhat obscure, but some sources say that he was the son of Rognvald, Harald Finehair’s general who was in charge of the attack on the Scottish Isles. So we can perhaps tie this Normandy raid into the events of our continuous calendar?

DAS Chronicle

Looting the Looters, 875 A.D. (Flaunden, November 2015)

1 Comment

The Vikings, laden down by loot from Medhamstead Abbey and fleeing the forces of Wessex, pushed into East Anglia to meet up with King Guthrum’s forces who were busy putting down the uprisings there. However, they found themselves slowed by their riches, harried by Englisc and also by those Vikings without treasure. In the ensuing clashes much treasure changed hands, including the Oestvikingae loosing the holy sheep’s shoulder blade which they stole from Cadbury.

Confrontation

One particularly mighty piece of loot was the Chalice of St. Botolph (an East Anglian abbot and saint of great repute). This chalice was said to have worked many miracles in the hands of the Englisc, turning aside sword-blows to save its bearer. It changed hands many times this day. The Westmen lost it to the lone wandering scop Cynric of the Sumersaete. Shortly afterwards, the marauding Oestvikingae sprung upon him and wrestled it from his grasp, and they then took their axes to it and chopped it to a more manageable size. They then tried to hide the majority of it, but they kept being disturbed by the Cilternsaete and Holmbyggjar. The Holmbyggjar soon cut down Hauk, stole most of the Chalice, and fled far to the East pursued by Thorhelm, leaving everyone else looking for them in vain.

Grimkell

In the evening, the local Englisc hosted a feast for the Vikings, under the rules of King Ceolwulf of Mercia. Much eating and drinking followed, including toasts to numerous Gods and Saints. There was a lot of talk of current affairs: of King Ceolwulf’s rule, of King Harald Fairhair’s raids on the Islands, of how the gathered company would act if they were a King. There were also many songs, from rousing and bawdy sing-alongs to the scop Cynric performing hauntingly beautiful tunes.

There was also much talk of the Chalice of St. Botolph. There was speculation that it might be cursed, so many times had it changed hands that day: that any who held it would lose their fights, and not hold it for long. Thus the Holmbyggjar divided its pieces up, between the Oestvikingae and the Westmen. The Oestvikingae and the Westmen then challenged Cynric to an arm wrestle for control of it, and he confidently and consecutively defeated five men to gain control of the entire Chalice and restore it. However, then the curse of the Chalice struck, and he was defeated at the hands of Hallgerd, who in turn was rapidly defeated by Guthwald. After that demonstration and confirmation of the terrible curse, none challenged Guthwald, as none wished to bear such an unlucky relic…

DAS Chronicle

The Hunt for Ivar’s Treasure, early 875 A.D. (Earleywood, March 2015)

Leave a comment

At the end of 874 King Burhred of Mercia was driven out of his kingdom, and the Viking king Ivar Ragnarsson died (see 2014’s Flaunden event). The Vikings crowned Ceolwulf as their puppet in Mercia, and he declared a peace. However, it was not universally respected, as some Mercians did not acknowledge Ceolwulf… Meanwhile the Vikings were leaderless, with Ivar’s brother Halfdan Ragnarsson and his rival Guthrum at each other’s throats, and all the warbands turning on each other.

Skirmish

King Ivar revealed on his deathbed where he buried the gold from Medhamstead Monastery (Peterborough) in 870. His notes and map were torn into three parts by squabbling Vikings, and the three parts found their way into the hands of the Holmbyggjar, Oestvikingae, and Westmen. They raced across Mercia toward the site to recover Ivar’s ill-gotten gains, clashing with each other in a series of brutal skirmishes on the way. Whilst passing through the lands of the Cilternsaete they encountered a problem: the Cilternsaete, possibly encouraged by the Beorcsciringas visiting from Wessex and letters from King Alfred, were being obstructive and demanding tolls from any Vikings crossing their land (and were secretly trying to gather the bits of the map for themselves, creating their own copy).

Englisc

The Westmen managed to collect the entire map, and rushed towards the final location, although on the way they did loose a piece to a final Englisc attack. Thus (after a break for a delicious lunch) the Westmen hared off first into the area where the treasure was buried. The Englisc were hot on their tail, followed by the Oestvikingae and Holmbyggjar (who had made their own map, by comparing their memories of fragments they had lost). After much backstabbing, frenzied searching through holly bushes, and quite a lot of reburial, it became clear that all the gold had been found. Then came the final desperate dash to sneak the treasure away from the site… The Englisc utilised the speedy and sneaky Wulfgar to smuggle theirs out first; the Oestvikingae put all their eggs in one Thorhelm whilst the rest of them tried to hold off the enemy (and Cuthwin took them down in quick succession); the Westmen sent Grimkell flanking the hall to successfully save their massive haul of treasure as Bulverk and Wulf caught Hauk with his pants down; Fritha sprinted in with one relic when everyone was distracted; and then came a final push from the Holmbyggjar, who had already feasted on most of the treasures that they recovered.

Duel

In the evening, in a hall on the borders of East Anglia, Ceolwulf’s peace held and Ingibjorg of the Holmbyggjar served a magnificent feast. The Englisc were visited by Father Godfrid of Earleywood Abbey, fresh from Ceolwulf’s court and newly promoted to the priesthood, with news of Englisc uprisings in Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria. He was returned one of the two lost Scrolls of St. Swithun by Ceolred Monger Thegn of the Beorcsciringas and the cursed sword Kingslayer by Herewulf Thegn of the Cilternsaete (delivered by Wulfgar of the Cilternsaete), and himself delivered letters to the Vikings from the three men who would be their king:

  • Guthrum said that there was no point fighting Wessex until the Englisc uprisings were subdued. He said that he was heading East, to crush the East Anglians, and offered land to all who would follow him.
  • Harald Fair-Hair, the King who had recently united all of Norway under his iron fist, announced that he was sailing towards these lands with Ragnvald Earl of More. He said that he intended to start by taking the Isles – the Shetlands, Orkneys, Hebrides, and Mann.
  • Halfdan Ragnarsson said that he would not let the Englisc, the Picts, or Harald Fair-Hair take the land that the Great Army had conquered, and that he was marching North to defend Northumbria and the Isles.

There was outrage at Harald’s words, with Styrkar Ovennisson of the Westmen wanting to defend his home on Orkney; Guðrún of the Oestvikingae casting bones and predicting ruin on any who followed Harald; and Hallgerd of the Westmen saying that Harald Fair-Hair reminded her of a bullying cousin from when she was young. The Westmen and Oestvikingae both declared their support for Halfdan, whilst Glora of the Holmbyggjar was more cautious, wishing to consult her comrades before deciding which king to follow.

Feast

An excerpt from Hauk Ragnarsson’s Saga
After the death of Ivar, the Oestvikingae were given part of a map that showed where he had hidden the treasure he had taken from Medhamstead Abbey 5 years before. They went east, through the lands of the Cilternsaete, to find it. On the way they clashed with other Vikings, wild raiders, who stole their fragment of Ivar’s map. However the Oestvikingae were wise, and had memorised their fragment of the map, chanting its words and drawing its shapes on the ground. When they met the Holmbyggjar, who had also once possessed some of Ivar’s map but then lost it, they shared the details which they remembered and together they rebuilt the map in their minds. With the help of some Englisc they later managed to defeat the wild Vikings, enforcing the peace which Ceolwulf had made.

The Oestvikingae then followed other treasure hunters to the place where Ivar’s gold lay. Using the map they had memorised, they hurried to one of the locations, and the keen eyes of Thorhelm quickly spotted the glint of monastic relics. Some of their treasure was stolen by the Holmbyggjar, once again reneging on earlier friendship, so Guðrún and Fritha buried the rest. Later they managed to rescue another piece of treasure from Englisc hands, and Fritha buried it so well that no man could find it, though several saw the area she had hidden in it and searched it long and hard. They then had to get the treasure out of the area, beyond the grasping hands of the Englisc. They dug up their first hoard, and entrusted it to Thorhelm’s swift legs whilst the rest of the warband held up the Englisc attempting to persue him. Then Fritha sneaked out to her buried stash, and managed to return it all on her own whilst the other searchers were distracted.

That evening they dined well, and received news that Harald Fairhair was seeking to rule these islands as well as Norway. The Oestvikingae agreed that they would not bend their knee to him, but would march north with Halfdan to repel his attack (staying somewhat near the back of Halfdan’s army, making sure that they Englisc did not rise up behind them).

Historical Notes – Buried Gold and Medhamstead Abbey

Medhamstead monastery was one of the greatest foundations in Anglo-Saxon England, jointly founded by two of the earliest Christian English kings, Oswi of Northumbria and Peada of Mercia. In 870 it contained around 80 monks, but the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that:

A.D. 870. This year the army rode over Mercia into East-Anglia, and there fixed their winter-quarters at Thetford. And in the winter King Edmund fought with them; but the Danes gained the victory, and slew the king; whereupon they overran all that land, and destroyed all the monasteries to which they came. The names of the leaders who slew the king were Hingwar and Hubba. At the same time came they to Medhamsted, burning and breaking, and slaying abbot and monks, and all that they there found. They made such havoc there, that a monastery, which was before full rich, was now reduced to nothing. The same year died Archbishop Ceolnoth; and Ethered, Bishop of Witshire, was chosen Archbishop of Canterbury.

Hingwar was probably Ivar, whilst Hubba was one of his brothers. He may well be the “brother of Ingwar and Healfden” who appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 878.
Medhamstead was rebuilt in 963-6, 100 years after our period, and evolved into the present Peterborough Cathedral.

What happened to the gold of Medhamsted Abbey is not recorded. Probably it was split between the raiders. However some our most spectacular Dark Age finds are from hoards have been deliberately buried, like the Staffordshire Hoard, the Cuerdale Hoard, and the Vale of York Hoard.
It’s presumed that these hoards were buried by people wanting to look after their property, who then died or were otherwise unable to return and dig them up. This event was meant to explore that concept, as well as playing with the idea of Easter Egg Hunts and our love of Treasure Island other pirate stories of buried gold and maps marked with big Xs!

9th Century History, DAS Chronicle

DAS in 2015 / Britain in 875

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 875 records that:

This year went the Great Army from Repton; and Halfdan advanced with some of the army against the Northumbrians, and fixed his winter-quarters by the river Tine. The army then subdued that land, and oft invaded the Picts and the Strathclydwallians. Meanwhile the three kings, Guthrum, Oskytel, and Anwind, went from Repton to Cambridge with a vast army, and sat there one year. This summer King Alfred went out to sea with an armed fleet, and fought with seven ship-rovers, one of whom he took, and dispersed the others.

Meanwhile at around this time the Heimskringla says that:

King Harald of Norway heard that the vikings, who were in the West sea in winter, plundered far and wide in the middle part of Norway; and therefore every summer he made an expedition to search the isles and out-skerries on the coast. Wheresoever the vikings heard of him they all took to flight, and most of them out into the open ocean. At last the king grew weary of this work, and therefore one summer he sailed with his fleet right out into the West sea. First he came to Hjaltland (Shetland), and he slew all the vikings who could not save themselves by flight. Then King Harald sailed southwards, to the Orkney Islands, and cleared them all of vikings. Thereafter he proceeded to the Sudreys (Hebrides), plundered there, and slew many vikings who formerly had had men-at-arms under them. Many a battle was fought, and King Harald was always victorious. He then plundered far and wide in Scotland itself, and had a battle there. When he was come westward as far as the Isle of Man, the report of his exploits on the land had gone before him; for all the inhabitants had fled over to Scotland, and the island was left entirely bare both of people and goods, so that King Harald and his men made no booty when they landed. …
King Harald gave Ragnvald, Earl of More, the Orkney and Shetland isles, when he sailed from the West; but Ragnvald immediately gave both these countries to his brother Sigurd, who remained behind them; and King Harald, before sailing eastward, gave Sigurd the earldom of them.

In 874/2014 Mercia lost her last independent king and the Vikings lost their unifying leader. The overarching themes of 875/2015 will be dealing with these losses:

  • The Viking Great Army has lost Ivar and so splits into two parts, with Ivar’s brother Halfdan Ragnarsson marching north to fight Northumbrians, Picts, and Strathclydwallians; and the other army under Guthrum and pals marching South-East to East Anglia. How will all our Viking units react to this? Which part of the army will they follow? Will they strike out on their own? Presumably the Holmbyggjar will head towards East Anglia, hoping to find homes there? How about the Westmen, will they accept Halfdan as King of Northumbria, ruling so near to their homes? Who will the Oestvikingae follow (and will anyone accept their blood-soaked ways)?
  • How will the Westmen react to the King Harald of Norway trying to claim their homes in the islands off Scotland for himself? Will Halfdan send them aid?
  • What will happen to the Mercians without Burhred? The Beorcsciringas have already found a temporary home in Wessex, but the Cilternsaete are now faced with the choice between joining Wessex, living in Mercia under a Viking puppet-king, or trying to gather allies to forge a revolt against Viking rule.
  • Alfred is now the last free Englisc king. Maybe this is the time that he begins to think himself as the King of the Englisc, not just of Wessex? The people who live in Wessex, the Sumorsaete and the Beorcsciringas, may well become his diplomats as well as his warriors.

Some possible plots that spring to mind include:

  • Fights in the far north, between the Vikings who live there (e.g. the Westmen), Halfdan’s half of the Great Army, Harald’s Norwegians, the downtrodden Northumbrian Englisc, and the local Strathclyde Welsh and Picts (break out the woad!)
  • The Battle for Cambridge, as Guthrum’s host marches out of Mercia and into East Anglia. They could well be skirting past Cilternsaete lands to get there?
  • Alfred’s Sea Battle. Maybe a crashed Viking ship is driven ashore, and the survivors try to fight their way free and across Wessex? Unless anyone can find us a fleet of longships…
  • Other smaller local skirmishes: with Ivar dead the Great Army has broken apart, and whilst the bulk of the Vikings are in the two big hosts, maybe there are also smaller groups raiding across Britain? You could fit pretty much any plot into this broad heading!

Whilst 874 was fairly focussed on Mercia, so it made sense for all our characters to be at all of the battles, this year is more spread out. All of our units do have reasons why they might be travelling further afield from their home territories and get caught up in the fighting- they might be being diplomats, or traders, or raiders. But equally it is possible that for an event set in the north some of the Englisc or the Holmbyggjar might want to make one-off characters to represent the Picts, or Strathclyde Welsh, or even the Norwegians (Herewulf of the Cilternsaete may play Herjolf instead, perhaps?) And for an event set in the south some of the Westmen or Oestvikingae might want to be make one-off characters as East Anglian Englisc, or monks, or similar.
However, the whole point of the Continuous Calendar is to allow us to develop our characters, so people should definitely have a chance to play their own characters as well as playing other roles! Luckily, with story happening all over the British Isles, everyone should be able to find plot that is local and relevant to them…

Our first event of 875/2015 is The Hunt For Ivar’s Treasure, at which the leaderless Vikings are attempting to recover gold that Ivar hid after looting Medhampstead Abbey 5 years ago (and the Englisc are trying to stop them!)
Our second fighting event of 875/2015 was Shipwrecked! To quote the A-S Chronicle: “This summer King Alfred went out to sea with an armed fleet, and fought with seven ship-rovers, one of whom he took, and dispersed the others.”

DAS Chronicle

The Doom of Burhred, 874 A.D. (Flaunden, October 2014)

At which the Vikings and Englisc fought a terrible battle, King Burhred of Mercia fled, the Vikings declared Ceolwulf King of Mercia, and the Heathen Host fractured as King Ivar died and they were torn apart by arguments.

The red hand of war gripped Mercia. The Great Army seized and fortified Repton – a direct challenge to king Burhred, the place where his ancestors lay. All asked if the Mercians would offer tribute, or seek battle?

Burhred knew that he was under a heathen curse. His luck was gone. Reluctant to bring his doom upon himself, he was at first unwilling to face the Danes, but the demands of his ealdormen and thegns that he do something, and Ceolwulf’s proposal that the Mercians should buy peace, forced his hand. He summoned the fyrd, and marched on Repton.

The Mercians tried to bottle the Danes up inside the fortification, but the Vikings managed to force their way out. In the ensuing confusion both armies ended up loose and skirmishing, seeking to regroup and reform their battle lines. Then the shield walls finally clashed, and the Vikings managed to break the Saxon flank. Burhred, knowing that he is doomed, lost his nerve, broke and ran. The Vikings pursued him into the woods, and a long hunt ensued with Saxons and Vikings seeking to find the missing King. At one point the Vikings captured some of his court, the captors argued amongst themselves about what to do with their prisoners, to free them, ransome them or sacrifice them? In the end the King and Queen managed to get clear of the woods, although not all the members of their court survived the encounter with the heathens, and at least one was left dangling from Odin’s tree, sacrificed by the Oestvikingae…

Some days later, once Ceolwulf claimed Mercia and made peace with the Danes, the Cilternsaete hosted a feast. Tempers ran high, and blows were narrowly averted. Both sides were divided, with Somersaete and Beorcsciringas arguing, and condemnation raining down on the Oestvikingae‘s treatment of hostages from all directions, Saxon and Viking. Mercia had lost her King, and was unsure of her future; the Viking puppet King Ceolwulf of Mercia had precious little support; the Vikings had also lost their King, as news arrived at the banquet that King Ivar the Boneless was slain, killed by his own sword, the cursed blade Kingslayer. Any unity that once existed between the Vikings under Ivar has gone, with the Holmbyggjar seeking to settle and own land under Guthrum and the Westmen returning with their riches to their island homes off Scotland’s coast. And, in Wessex, King Alfred is the last surviving independent Englisc King…

The Chilternsaetae’s View
We received a message from Abbot Wulfnoth- King Burhred had summoned the fyrd. So, true to our duty to fulfil fyrd service for the abbey of St Alban, we rode north, joining the muster before advancing on Repton. Besides Mercians, there were some West Saxons present too, sent by King Alfred to support his sister’s husband.
The heathen army had seized the royal tun, and built a fortification there, defiling the church of St Wigstan, using it as the gate. The rampart curled around to meet the river Trent at either end. So we settled down to lay siege, as at Nottingham some years before.
When we heard the king address his fyrd, his heart did not seem to be in it. I spoke with Eowa, a member of the king’s hearth-troop, and he told me that the King had been in a fey, strange mood for some while, following something that happened at his favourite hunting lodge. He seemed to me to be a man who had seen his own wyrd. If that is what it does, then God save me from foreknowledge.
Eowa also told me that Ceolwulf, who claims descent from a older line of Mercian kings, had been making much of how, if he was King, he would seek peace with the Danes. So it seems that maybe Burhred felt he had to act, whether he wished to or not.
Poor Eowa- I will never speak with him again. He fell, there at Repton. I would have fallen too, but for Godwin.
We heard that there was sickness amongst the Danes. Maybe so, and that decided them perhaps. For whatever reason, they gathered their force and sought to break out through the church. We gathered a band at the gate to hold them within, but their numbers and desperation told, and we were forced back. The Vikings streamed out, and we fell back- both sides becoming scattered in the confusion of battle. Christian and heathen alike had to re-order their troops and form a shield-wall.
After a while, the linesformed and clashed, and we fought hard on the Mercian left, but were outflanked. I heard after that our centre broke- indeed, that King Burhred himself had fled, causing a rout.
Ealdormen Aethelred called for us to form a rearguard- a good man, Aethelred: I pray that he lived through the carnage.
The rest of that day is jumbled in my memory- many small fights in the woods as those of us that lived tried to break free, many dead lying open-eyed, awaiting the wolf and the raven. Eventually we made our way clear, and headed for home.
While we recovered, we hosted some of the West Saxons who had also fought clear in our hall at Redbourn, and drank the grave-ale for those who had fallen. They were still with us some days later, when a messenger came from Ceolwulf- he now claimed the kingship, and a band of Danes were travelling around Mercia not as raiders, but as emissaries seeking peace. So we hosted them too.
So soon after we had been in battle against each other, it is not surprising that harsh words were spoken, from both sides of the hall. But the peace of the hall held- not least because others, on both sides, spoke for calm to prevail.
It seems that Burhred has fled his kingdom- no one knows where, although some say that he has gone to seek sanctuary in Rome. I do not know if that is true.
So now we Cilternsaete must choose- do we stay true to Burhred, wherever he is? Do we accept Ceolwulf as king, and peace with the Danes? Or maybe there will be some other choice. I must seek Abbot Wulfnoth’s wisdom.
We live in troubled times.
Herewulf thegn

An excerpt from Hauk Ragnarsson’s Saga
Under King Ivar ‘the Boneless’ Ragnarsson’s leadership, the Great Heathen Host erected a mighty fortified bank around their camp at Repton. When Burhred’s army arrived, they tried to pen the Vikings inside this camp. As disease began to spread in the camp, King Ivar saw the need for us to break out and fight in open group – the Oestvikingae were among the leaders of the breaching force. It was a hard fight, with the Englisc intent on not giving the Host the space to use their superior numbers, but eventually the Mercians were driven back. Hauk was greatly impressed by the courage of the fallen Mercian thegn who led the battleline, and died with his sword in his hand. Hauk took his penis as a talisman, and later Guðrún buried the body with a boar’s tusk between its legs and a Thor’s Hammer around his neck, to ensure that he went to Valhalla, and was whole there.

The Oestvikingae then fought through the streets and woods surrounding Repton, as the Host fought to get to open ground where they could reform the battleline. The vǫlva Guðrún instructed Hauk that in order to ensure the battle ahead would go well, he must sacrifice an infant, quartering them into a bloody mess, and this was done, using a young Viking boy that they encountered and brawled with. This earnt Hauk his sister Ingibjorg’s grave disapproval.

The Great Heathen Host succeeded in getting through to clear ground, fighting past many Englisc and suffering some terrible losses in the process. They then reformed the shieldwall, and charged Burhred’s forces, seeking to capture and kill the King. As his battleline broke, Burhred fled, and hid in the nearby woods. The Vikings split up to search for him, clashing with Mercians seeking to find and protect their lord.

The Oestvikingae succeeded in capturing several ladies of Burhred’s court, and Hauk sought to threaten them to draw out Burhred and talk to him. In order to do this, Hauk sent one of their hostages to get Burhred and told her to return within a certain count or else the others would die. This strategy drew the ire of other Vikings, with Guðrún and Thorhelm the Cruel not wanting to set a captive free, the Holmbyggjar saying that slaying unarmed women was cowardly and wrong, whilst the Westmen wanted to continue the pursuit not engage in politics. As the count was completed, Burhred had not emerged – either because he was too cowardly to come forward to save his people, or because he was too far away to hear the demands – and so the Oestvikingae killed their captive, impaling her on Odin’s Tree.

The search for Burhred continued, and the Oestvikingae clashed with Englisc and Viking alike as they continued to carve a bloody path through any hostages they caught. However the search proved inconclusive, and the Oestvikingae returned to Repton to bury the dead.

A while later, they feasted at a hall of the Cilternsaete. There much news was shared: King Burhred was missing, presumed fled; Ceolwulf had declared himself King of Mercia; and King Ivar ‘the Boneless’ Ragnarsson, the man who held the Great Summer Army and the Great Heathen Host together, was dead. Tempers were high, and Englisc and Viking alike turned their ire on the Oestvikingae for the sacrifices they had performed, especially the killing of the unarmed hostages. Hauk remained defiant: the sacrifices were neccessary in order to gain the victory, and the threat to the hostages could have been averted by Burhred if he was a true king and cared about his people, if he had just stepped forwards. With King Ivar dead, there was no leader to bind the Vikings together, and deep fractures appeared between the groups… The peace held, but only just.

The Death of Ivar
After the Battle of Repton, Hauk wrote this song about King Ivar’s death:

The saddest song, I shall now sing;
Of how the Kingslayer, killed a king.
Ivar the Boneless, big and brave;
Reaved British lands, for Ragnar’s revenge.

His Heathen Host, harried the Englisc,
Kings were killed, and kingdoms vanquished.
When fighting Wessex, we suffered woe,
King Bagsecg killed, by Kingslayer’s blow.

The sword was saved, stored in Christ’s house,
Symbol of our slain, giving Saxons strength.
So we were sent, to steal sword for seiðr,
As witches wove words, wyrd’s web drew near:

Kingslaying blade will betray its bearer,
Defeat’s disgrace will be drowned in blood.

Monks were mauled, monastery attacked,
To get the king-slayer, seiðr for spá-wives.
A nithing-pole erected, a night for norns,
King Burhred cursed, with deep-cut runes.

The blade was brought, to Ivar the Boneless,
King Ivar cursed Burhred, Kingslayer would kill.
At Repton’s battle, Burhred was beaten,
Shield-wall smashed, and fyrdsmen slain.

As Burhred’s battleline, began to flee,
Ivar sprang forward, shouting his glee.
The Viking king, drew Kingslaying blade,
Predicted by witches, who prophecies made:

Kingslaying blade will betray its bearer,
Defeat’s disgrace will be drowned in blood.

From Englisc flight a thegn stepped forth,
Boldly blocked Boneless, to save Burhred his lord.
Both rained blows, blood flowed bright,
Ivar’s blade bounced; bit him, took life.

The battle was won, Burhred’s battleline fled,
But the Viking king, was cut, killed, dead.
Where to now, will the wanderers Vike?
The heathen host, has lost it’s head.

The witches’ words, were twisted and wicked,
The bearer betrayed, was Boneless not Burhred.
Mercia retreats, but Ragnarsson is rift,
Saxons gain strength, as Ivar is slain.

Kingslaying blade betrayed its bearer,
Defeat’s disgrace was drowned in blood.

Historical Note – Human Sacrifice & Odd Burials from Repton

Did the Vikings really do human sacrifice? Probably…

The Arab travellers, Ibn Fadlan and Ibn Rustah, both describe women being buried with the dead in Rus funerals. Sacrifice to the gods is also attested by Adam of Bremen, writing about Old Uppsala in Sweden:

There is a festival at Uppsala every nine years […] The sacrifice is as follows; of every kind of male creature, nine victims are offered. By the blood of these creatures it is the custom to appease the gods. Their bodies, moreover, are hanged in a grove which is adjacent to the temple. This grove is so sacred to the people that the separate trees in it are believed to be holy because of the death or putrefaction of the sacrificial victims. There even dogs and horses hang beside human beings.

Which is also echoed in the Gutsaga:

Men believed in holt and howe (grove and grave-mound), sanctuaries and sacred sites, and in the heathen gods. They made offerings of their sons and daughters and cattle, with food and ale. They did that in their error. The chief sacrifice was the one for the whole land, with people; otherwise each Third had its own sacrifice. The smaller assemblies had lesser sacrifices with cattle, food and ale. They were called suth-nautar (Brethren of the Boiling, Cooking Companions), because they cooked [the sacrificial feast] together.
Gutasaga

And then there’s the Saga of Ragnar’s Sons, where Ivar the Boneless kills Aelle of York using the Blood Eagle (hacking open his back, pulling his ribs open, and waving the lungs about). Although that’s possibly not so much a sacrifice as just a brutal murder…

Of course, those accounts are Muslims & Christians writing about their pagan neighbours/ancestors, and the human sacrifice could have been added to make it more obvious that Islam/Christianity was a better religion. So archeological evidence is better, if less clear.

Several of the Danish peat bog bodies were hung, which is suggestive of sacrifice mirroring Odin hanging on Yggdrasil? But it could have been capital punishment instead.

In Repton, we find several possible sacrifices. There is a burial mound containing 264 skeletons (with no obvious wounds) arrayed around a stone crypt/coffin that originally contained a giant skeleton. Possibly Ivar the Boneless is the central skeleton, whilst the chaps around the outside could be bodies dug up from the graveyard and then reburied; or Vikings who’d died of disease whilst overwintering at Repton; or sacrifices along the lines of those described by Ibn Fadlan and Ibn Rustah?

There are also quartered corpses of children from Repton. These are hard to read as capital punishment, and so human sacrifice does seem a likely interpretation. Children seem to be popular sacrificial victims, as 4 children found in wells at Trelleborg that have also been interpreted as sacrifices.

Finally there are several bodies, in their own personal graves, who had battle-wounds. One, Grave 511, was clearly quite a hero. He suffered a head-wound, was killed by a blow to his left femur (cutting his penis off?), and was buried with a silver Thor’s hammer & two glass beads, a leather belt with a decorated copper-alloy buckle, and an iron sword in a fleece-lined wooden scabbard covered with leather. He also had two knives, an iron key, the tusk of a wild boar between his thighs, and lower down, perhaps originally in a bag or box, the humerus of a jackdaw. He might not have been a sacrifice, but he was certainly killed and buried in a very ritualised way – in our story he became the Mercian battle leader, killed by Hauk cutting off his penis and then buried by the vǫlva Guðrún.

Repton demonstates to us one other key point: Viking culture was not neccessarily uniform. The sheer diversity of Viking funerary customs displayed is amazing – the mass grave around the giant, the individual warriors in graves, and also nearby a collection of barrows containing cremations (the Heath Wood barrow cemetary). These cultural differences were expressed in our story by the differing reactions to human sacrifice by the Oestvikingae and the Holmbyggjar…

DAS Chronicle

Before the Battle, 874 A.D. (Murton Park, August 2014)

At which the Vikings and Englisc both prepared for the battle to seal the fate of Mercia, and an introspective Viking leader, Ivar the Boneless, asked the assembled forces exactly what they wanted.

Before the battle

The war season, 874. The Viking Great Army gathered at Repton in Mercia, home to the burial crypt of the Mercian kings. Meanwhile King Burhred of Mercia, having listened to Alfred’s advice, assembled his forces, called the fyrd, prepared for a counter-attack to seal his fate and the fate of his kingdom. And Ceolwulf, claiming to be the rightful king of Mercia, descendant of the King Ceolwulf who fled Mercia 50 years ago, said that if he were King he would bring peace with the Vikings by paying them to leave.

In a hall near Repton some of the Vikings gathered to prepare for the coming battle – working on their equipment in the forge, fletching arrows, repairing their tunics for possibly the last time. They were visited by envoys and friends from among the Mercians. At the start of the feast, Hersir Hauk of the Oestvikingae spoke. He said that with King Burhred of Mercia gathering his forces, there would soon be war – but for now there was peace, and we should dine well as it may be one of our last meals.

As the guests were tucking into their rich beef stew, the hall was visited by an exceptionally tall and gaunt figure: Ivar ‘the Boneless’ Ragnarsson, eldest of the sons of Ragnar, pre-eminent leader of the Great Army. He was unstable on his feet, leaning on his daneaxe and the hall’s pillars to stand. He said that he was ill, and old. He had been harrying the Englisc for 10 years, ever since his father Ragnar Loðbrók had been killed in Jorvic, leading the Great Army to seek revenge and wealth. He had killed his father’s killer, brought the Northumbrian kingdom centered on Jorvic to its knees, and also crushed the East Anglians. But now, seeing his death approaching, he wanted to make sure that he had done right according to his followers, so asked them what they wanted.

Ingibjorg of the Holmbyggjar spoke of her desire to find a land to live in. She had come to the Englisc lands in the Great Summer Army led by Guthrum, 3 years ago, seeking a quick victory of Wessex and Mercia in order to win herself a place to live. She saw the need to crush Mercia, to take and secure her land with blood, to fulfill the curse placed by the volvas on King Burhred, but ultimately wanted to settle – ideally in East Anglia, with trade-routes to Denmark.

She asked too for clarity on the succession – who would lead the Vikings if Ivar died? Ivar said that the strongest leader would rule, and whoever he nominated did not matter.

Wulf of the Westmen said that he was a mercenary, and spoke of his desire for money. He saw the best route as a bloody path, conquering the Englisc lands and forcing the Englisc to pay rent. However he agreed with Ingibjorg: the land must be won with blood.

Hallgerd of the Westmen agreed – like Wulf, she simply wanted money, won with blood. She has land on the isle of Canna off the land of the Scots, and has no interest in settling on the mainland or who rules here.

Young Cnut of the Oestvikingae, cousin of Hauk, also wanted money – and wanted to grow up a warrior, earning his money with a sword; not a farmer, living in peace.

Wulfruna of the Cilternsaete said that she, possibly unlike her lord Herewulf, ultimately desired peace. But a peace of equals, not the peace of the servant.

Wulfgar of the Cilternsaete, her son, was more direct and violent. He saw that only blood, and the sword, would decide the matter – and threatened to stab King Ivar himself!

Ivar coughed, a terrible fit. He acknowledged that since all wished it so and none could see a peaceful route, there could be no peace without war first, and that the blood must flow. He then withdrew, to visit the other halls where his followers gathered, and talk to them too before battle came. Because it was now certain that battle would come, and the fate of Mercia would be decided with blood…

Feast before we die

Ingibjorg’s lament
Ivar Ragnarsson (‘the Boneless’) asked the Viking war-leaders for their counsel – should they treat with the Englisc or fight? In reply, had she thought of them at the time, Ingibjorg Ragnarsdottir (no relation) would certainly have spoken these lines.

I do not crave the blood-speech of the battle tongues;
I would weave weapons’ woe.
I rode across Njord’s pasture,
My steed thundering over the world worm’s burrow,
In search of green pastures of my own.

My parents live in the hall of the daughter
Of the thunder-god’s companion.
My husband and my son are Freyja’s guests.
Our lands feed the milk-givers of our foes
And I have no weaving-frame to offer
To my dear daughter Dagrun.

The father-god of the shield trees
Vowed that those trees and their saplings
Would thrust their roots into the west-land valleys.

How then shall I cry craven?
No sword-swinger I – barely can I thrust a spear,
Yet if any home I have, it lies here.

Historical Note – Ivar ‘the Boneless’
Ivar the Boneless is, like many of the Viking leaders, a shadowy figure, straddling legend and history. It is possible that he might be the same figure as the King Ímar of Irish sources, founder of the Uí Ímair dynasty who ruled Dublin, parts of Scotland, and the Hebrides. It is recorded that Ímar died in 873 in Britain. Some accounts don’t say how he die, others say that it is due to an illness. In the Saga of Ragnar’s Sons, he is reported to die childless, of old age – although the Irish King Ímar, in contrast, had several children when he founded his dynasty.
It is not known what Ivar’s ‘the Boneless’ nickname refers to. Some have suggested that it might be a muscular condition meaning he couldn’t use his limbs (although that is contradicted by saga descriptions of him as tall and powerful); others that it could refer to erectile issues (hence the childlessness).
One possible solution to the riddle was uncovered by a farm labourer, Thomas Walker, in Repton in 1686. He dug up a burial mound, uncovering a stone coffin containing ‘a Skeleton of a Humane Body Nine Foot long’, buried with over 100 skeletons arrayed around him. This was clearly an important person, buried with great ritual. Could the (now lost) skeletal giant be that of Ivar ‘the Boneless’, the nick-name an ironic one much like ‘Little’ John? If so, this would tally with the Irish sources giving 873 as his year of death (as it was in 873 & 874 that the Vikings were in Repton). So that’s the theory we’ve gone with!

DAS Chronicle

To Curse A King, 874 A.D. (Chiltern Open Air Museum, May 2014)

At which the Vikings used the magic of the Kingslayer to erect a potent nithing-pole inside Burhred’s favourite hunting ground, giving him another blow to his morale and unleashing powerful spirits against him.

The Nithing Pole

The start of the war season, 874. It had been a decade since the death of Ragnar Loðbrók led to his sons assembling the Great Heathen Army and attacking Britain; three years since Guthrum joined them, leading the Great Summer Host. They had won battles in every kingdom of the Englisc, and Northumbria and East Anglia had fallen, but Mercia and Wessex still remained independent. Tensions were stirring among the Vikings – some had come to these lands expecting a rapid victory and then a chance to settle in new lands, and wanted to end the fighting; others were blood-crazed and wanted to continue raiding. Even those who wanted to settle were divided, with the followers of Halfdan Ragnarsson feeling that the followers of Guthrum had not done enough to earn themselves land yet, and many arguments about who would get which land.

But Ivar ‘the Boneless’, eldest son of the slain Ragnar and the only man who could unite all the Vikings, understood that as long as any Englisc nation remained unconquered, the land would not be subdued and it was pointless to discuss dividing it and settling. And so he spoke, and the Great Heathen Army descended upon Mercia.

Ivar planned to replace the Mercian king, Burhred, with a thegn called Ceolwulf, who promised that if he were king he would make peace with the Vikings, and pay them annually without them even having to fight. To do this, King Burhred had to fall.

And so Ivar sent a group ahead of the main host, deep into the heart of Mercia, to the favoured hunting ground of King Burhred. The group included warriors from many ships (the Westmen, Holmbyggjar, and Oestvikingae), a huscarl of Halfdan called Herjólf, and also two powerful vǫlvas, Guðrún and Wulfhild, wielders of dark and powerful magics. On a dark and stormy night outside Burhred’s hunting lodge they erected a níðstang, a nithing pole, carved with runes, topped with a stag’s skull, anointed with blood poured from the Chalice of King Edwin of Northumbria, and cut with the Kingslayer. And the vǫlvas recited powerful spells and curses around it, and circled it three times, walking backwards with their heads between their legs, cackling evilly.

When Burhred next visited the woods he would find the pole, and read the runic curse:

With this Níðing Pole I Curse King Burhred, and Turn the Spirits of the Land on King Burhred
With the Skull of the King of the Forest I Curse King Burhred
With Blood from the Chalice of King Edwin I Curse King Burhred
With a Cut from the Kingslayer that Killed King Bagsecg I Curse King Burhred

His doom was coming, as the Vikings were moving on Mercia.

Herjolf Asgrimsson’s view
I am Herjolf Asgrimsson, from Ormsness in Skane before I was outlawed and came west-over-sea and joined the huskarlar of Hafdan Ragnarsson.
Halfdan bade me join a strange raid by Hauk of the Oestvikingae- not to seize silver, but to plant a curse. Halfdan wanted one of his own to see what happened.
We were a small band- a few warriors and two spaewives. We rode deep into Mercia. There, we found the hunting lodge of Burhred, king of Mercia.
It was a wild and stormy night- I could well believe that those from the other worlds were close- trolls and jotuns and svartalfar. There the volvas set up the curse-pole and worked their spells around it, and Hauk called down a curse upon Burhred. I shivered. Perhaps it was the cold wind. Perhaps.
I am glad that I am not Burhred of Mercia.

An excerpt from Hauk Ragnarsson’s Saga
Hauk took to Kingslayer to the vǫlva Guðrún, and she thought of a plan to harness its magics to make King Burhred flee Mercia, so that Ceolwulf might take his place and rule Mercia as a puppet of the Vikings. Guðrún presented her plan to Ivar Ragnarsson, and he was pleased. And so when the Great Army attacked Mercia, Guðrún went ahead of them, to the heart of that land, and she took with her Hauk and his cousin Wulfhild, who was learning the arts of seiðr from Guðrún, and other warriors. In a terrible storm Hauk erected a powerful níðstang, topped with a stag’s head, bathed in blood from the Chalice of King Edwin of Northumbria, and sliced with the Kinglayer. And the vǫlvas carved it with dark runes, and recited spells, and walked backwards around it three times with their heads between their legs, and called down the gaze of Odin on King Burhred.

The Nithing Pole

Historical Note – Níðstang & Vǫlvas
There is no evidence of nithing poles being used in England, sadly. They are used various times in the sagas though, most famously in Egil’s Saga, Ch. 60:

And when all was ready for sailing, Egil went up into the island. He took in his hand a hazel-pole, and went to a rocky eminence that looked inward to the mainland. Then he took a horse’s head and fixed it on the pole. After that, in solemn form of curse, he thus spake: ‘Here set I up a curse-pole, and this curse I turn on king Eric and queen Gunnhilda. (Here he turned the horse’s head landwards.) This curse I turn also on the guardian-spirits who dwell in this land, that they may all wander astray, nor reach or find their home till they have driven out of the land king Eric and Gunnhilda.’ This spoken, he planted the pole down in a rift of the rock, and let it stand there. The horse’s head he turned inwards to the mainland; but on the pole he cut runes, expressing the whole form of curse.

This really rang a bell with the way that Burhred was driven out of Mercia, so we couldn’t resist including one in our story! All of the Viking age poles that we know of used horse’s heads, but there is contemporary survival/revival of the practice in Iceland which other animals (like cows) have been used – see http://grapevine.is/news/2011/10/12/medieval-magic-employed-in-neighbour-dispute/ for examples. So we felt that the stag wasn’t entirely unbelievable.

Vǫlvas walking backwards with their heads between their legs is also attested several times in the sagas. For example here’s Vatnsdoela saga, Ch. 26:

‘What fiend is this coming towards us?” cried Högni. ‘ I can’t make it out!’ ‘It’s old Ljót on her way,’ Þórsteinn answered, ‘and what a tangle she’s in!’ She had cast her clothes up over her head and was walking backwards, and had thrust her head back between her legs; the look in her eyes was ugly as hell as she darted troll-like glances at them.